Cash is making a comeback: ATMs are returning to stores and villages

The federal government wants to make cash widely accessible again: by 2027, no one should have to travel more than 5 kilometers to withdraw cash. This means ATMs will also return to stores.

End to years of decline

The measure follows a sharp decline in the number of ATMs. Between 2015 and 2022, nearly 40% of the network disappeared, reports Belgian newspaper HLN. At the end of 2021, Belgium still had 5,479 ATMs, but that number dropped to 3,379 by the end of last year. The government wants to reverse this trend: Minister of Consumer Protection Rob Beenders explicitly states that “the situation for consumers must never be worse than it was in 2021.”